meditation

Twelve free meditation MP3s!

2021 is the 21st anniversary of the launch of the Wildmind website. To celebrate, we’re giving away two albums of guided meditation MP3’s.

  • One album is Guided Meditations for Calmness, Awareness, and Love, which was the first CD I ever recorded. This particular album was the best-selling meditation title on Amazon for several years running. It contains three guided meditations: mindfulness of breathing, lovingkindness, and walking meditations.
  • The other album is from our online course, Get Your Sit Together. It contains nine guided meditations.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDED MEDITATION ALBUMS HERE.

Please enjoy these meditations!

If You Like These Guided Meditations…

If you enjoy and, more importantly, benefit from these meditations, remember that we have two other options available:

Share the Love!

I’d be very appreciative if you’d share the news about these two free albums as widely as possible. Please hit up your social media friends!

Read More

Another free book giveaway!

Dipa Ma largeWe’re giving away another copy of Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master by Amy Schmidt!

Simply sign up for Wildmind’s bi-monthly newsletter for a chance to win!

We will choose one new subscriber at random on Monday, January 26, 2015 at 4:00 pm (US EST). The winner will be notified by email.

“Dipa Ma’s profound wisdom and compassion continue to inspire and guide an ever-growing number of spiritual seekers and practitioners of every persuasion. Weaving together her powerful words and techniques with heartwarming biographical stories and encounters shared by her family, her students in India and the West, and prominent teachers of Buddhism and meditation in America, this is the only full account of Dipa Ma’s extraordinary life and legacy.”

Enter your name and email address below if you wish to join the thousands of people who receive our monthly newsletter and to have a chance to win this great book. You can see examples of past newsletters here.

Our newsletter is in HTML format.

* indicates required




We hate spam as much as you do, and so we take your privacy seriously and will never, ever, sell, rent, or share your email address with anyone. An unsubscribe link can be found at the foot of every newsletter and you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Read More

Free book giveaway!

Dipa Ma largeWe’re giving away a copy of Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master by Amy Schmidt!

Simply sign up for Wildmind’s bi-monthly newsletter for a chance to win!

We will choose one new subscriber at random tomorrow, Tuesday, November 25, 2015 at 4:00 pm (US EST). The winner will be notified by email.

“Dipa Ma’s profound wisdom and compassion continue to inspire and guide an ever-growing number of spiritual seekers and practitioners of every persuasion. Weaving together her powerful words and techniques with heartwarming biographical stories and encounters shared by her family, her students in India and the West, and prominent teachers of Buddhism and meditation in America, this is the only full account of Dipa Ma’s extraordinary life and legacy.”

Enter your name and email address below if you wish to join the thousands of people who receive our monthly newsletter and to have a chance to win this great book. You can see examples of past newsletters here.

Our newsletter is in HTML format.

* indicates required




We hate spam as much as you do, and so we take your privacy seriously and will never, ever, sell, rent, or share your email address with anyone. An unsubscribe link can be found at the foot of every newsletter and you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Read More

Man behind meditation app goes from monk to millionaire

wildmind meditation newsNilufer Atik, The Telegraph: How a meditation app brought mindfulness to the masses, and success to its creator.

“We all need to get a little head space” – it’s a catchphrase that has become ingrained into the psyches of more than a million people worldwide. And it’s all thanks to the quiet ambition of one man who wanted to help stressed-out executives achieve more calm. A few years on and the app to which the phrase belongs – Headspace – has not only transformed the lives of those who use it, but also that of its founder, Andy Puddicombe.

Bristol-born Andy set up …

Read the original article »

Read More

5 Science-backed ways to boost your happiness

wildmind meditation newsStephany Tlalka, Mindful.org: Happiness is hot right now. You can’t visit major blogs like The Huffington Post and MindBodyGreen without running into tips and tricks for harnessing well-being.

That’s uplifting, says Emma Seppala, associate director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University. But she says these blogs are missing one key ingredient. Facts.

“A lot of those articles are intuitively true, but because of my science background, I always look at an article like that and think, ground this in some data!” says Seppala, laughing. “I can’t take it as seriously.”

Seppala has engaged her science background …

Read the original article »

Read More

Meditation generation

Julie Hare, The Australian: Just over four months ago, Ryan Daniels (not his real name) made a life-changing decision. He started practising meditation.

“I’d upped my game and was exercising more and eating better,” says the 40-year-old executive for a not-for-profit organisation. “But I realised despite doing everything right I still wasn’t coping well. Nothing dreadful, but things kept getting on top of me, especially at work.

“Now I meditate every day. I describe it like brushing my teeth. I get up in the morning and do it; I can’t start my day without it.”

Simone Pedersen feels the same way. The business…

Read the original article »

Read More

Meditation should be more mainstream

Thomas Pollick, The Daily Northwestern: The first time I really learned about meditation was during my sophomore year of high school in an Eastern Religions class. A Buddhist speaker came in to talk about his experiences. Following the talk, I asked him how I could incorporate meditation into my everyday life. He said that every day right after I get up, I should sit on the side of my bed for five minutes and focus on my breathing.

That’s all it was. Just five minutes, focusing on my breathing. Contrary to what I expected, there was no talk of spirituality or references…

Read the original article »

Read More

Handling blocks to any inner practice—meditation, yoga, gratitude, mindfulness

When you try to change your life for better, sometimes you bump into a block, such as distracting thoughts. Blocks are common. They’re not bad or wrong—but they do get in the way. What works is to explore them with self-acceptance, and see what you can learn about yourself. One valuable aspect of taking in the good is that it often reveals other issues, such as an underlying reluctance to let yourself feel good. Then you can address these issues with the suggestions below. With practice and time, blocks usually fade away.

Blocks to Any Inner Practice

• Distractibility—Focus on the stimulating aspects of positive experiences, which will keep your attention engaged with them.

• Just not in touch with your body or your feelings—Explore and get used to simple pleasant sensations, such as the taste of pancakes with syrup, the feeling of warm water on your hands, or the ease in exhaling.

• Uncomfortable tuning into your own experience—Put yourself in a safe setting, and remind yourself that you don’t have to be externally vigilant. Look around for objects or people that give you comfort and a sense of protection. Bring to mind what it feels like to be with someone who cares about you. Remember that you can shift your attention away from your experience at any time you want. Be aware of something pleasant in your experience, such as a pretty sight or enjoyable sound, and notice again and again that continuing to be aware of it is all right for you, that nothing bad is happening to you. Overanalyzing, pulling out of the experience—Bring attention back into your body and emotions. For example, follow one breath from beginning to end, or gently name what you’re feeling to yourself (e.g., revved up . . . exasperated . . . calming . . . feeling better).

Blocks Specific to Taking In the Good

• It’s hard to receive, including a good experience—Inhale and sense that it’s okay to let something in. Pick a simple positive emotion such as relief or gladness, open to it and let it come into your mind, and recognize that you’re still fine.

• Concern that you’ll lose your edge in business or life if you no longer feel “hungry”—Realize that building up in- ner resources such as confidence and happiness can only aid your success. On a foundation of well-being, you can still be very determined and ambitious. Additionally, taking in the good trains your mind to see the whole picture, which could help you spot more opportunities.

• Fear that you’ll lower your guard if you feel better, and that’s when people get whacked—Remind yourself that you can still be watchful while also feeling good. Focus on building up inner strengths such as determination, resilience, confidence, and feeling cared about so you can become less worried about lowering your guard.

• Belief that seeking to feel good is selfish, vain, or sinful, or that it’s disloyal or unfair to those who suffer, or that you don’t deserve it—It’s moral to seek the welfare of all beings, and “all beings” includes the one wearing your name tag. You matter, too. Increasing your happiness will not increase the suffering of others, nor will increasing your suffering make them happier. In fact, developing your inner strengths, including peace, contentment, and love, will provide you with more to offer others. Taking in praise or a sense of accomplishment won’t make you conceited; as people feel fuller inside, they’re less likely to get puffed up or arrogant.

• Fear that if you let yourself feel good, you’ll want more but be disappointed—Recognize that if you feel good today, there’s a good chance you will also feel good tomorrow, and thus not get disappointed. Even if you do become dis- appointed, know that this will be unpleasant but not over- whelming. Put the risks of disappointment in perspective: What’s greater, the cost of occasional disappointment or the benefit of feeling good and building up strengths in- side?

• As a woman, you’ve been socialized to make others happy, not yourself—Your needs and wants have the same standing as theirs. And if you want to care for others, you have to nurture yourself.

• As a man, you’ve been socialized to be stoic and not care about your experience—You need to refuel or you’ll run out of gas. Also, building up your inner “muscles” makes you stronger, not weaker.

• Positive experiences activate negative ones—This is counterintuitive, but it’s actually common. For example, feeling cared about could stir up feelings of not being loved by the right person. If something like this happens for you, know that whatever is negative does not change the truth of what is positive. Then refocus on the positive experience, particularly its enjoyable aspects (which will help keep your attention in it). There are payoffs in not feeling good—Sometimes, let’s face it, there can be a certain gratification in being out- raged, aggrieved, hurt, resentful, righteously indignant, or even blue. But, at the end of the day, what’s better for you: these payoffs . . . or actually feeling good?

• You’ve been punished for being energized or happy— Really recognize that you spend time with different people today than those in your childhood. Notice the people who are fine with you feeling good. Wouldn’t you have liked it if someone had stood up for you when you were young and lively and joyful? Well, you can be that person for yourself today.
hardwiring
• Belief that there is nothing good inside you—The good that others see in you is not a delusion of theirs. It is real, as real as your hands. Hold on to the knowing of the reality of your helpful actions, good intentions, and caring feelings. If people put you down or shamed you in the past, recog-nizing the realness of your goodness is a way to be fair and kind toward yourself today. (For more, see the section on recognizing the good in yourself in chapter 6, and the practice “Feeling Like a Good Person” on page 213.)

• Belief that there’s no point in feeling good since some things are still bad—Know that the bad things that exist do not remove the good ones; the hole does not get rid of the donut. Plus, one way to deal with the bad is to grow the good. I love this proverb: Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.

Read More

Meditation is helping medical students

Harold Mandel, Examiner.com: Being a medical student is a very stressful experience which can result in burnout without proper interventions. Natural interventions such as meditation are preferable to drugs in order to avoid potential side effects from tranquilizers. Mayo Clinic writes that meditation is used for relaxation and stress reduction. Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center reported in a news release on Oct. 30, 2013, that medical students are being taught meditation techniques to prevent burnout and improve care.

Although doctors often advise patients to be careful about too much stress since it can be harmful to their health, physicians don’t always take their own advice…

Read the original article »

Read More

Research finds yoga, meditation can help women after cancer

Heather Yourex, Global Toronto: Susan Ockey has been practicing yoga for nearly 5 years. She started her practice after her cancer treatment finished.

“I just got through everything and then about a year later went, ‘oh my goodness… what happened? I had cancer.”

According to clinical psychological, Dr. Linda Carlson, many cancer survivors experience stress and anxiety long after therapy ends.

“It’s a huge problem for many cancer patients. They’re dealing with uncertainty, fears of recurrence, lingering side effects, pain, swelling in the arm, sleep difficulties… and fatigue is a big problem as well…

Read the original article »

Read More
Menu